written by: Berny Unruh - Cottonwood Extension District
One of my favorite 4-H fair events is Fashion Revue. I have so many stories I could tell about this particular project and many of them involve staying up late to finish my project. My favorite story is about my younger sister and her lawnmowing experience the day before fashion revue. She slipped as she was mowing on an incline. To make the story short, at age 20, I was the only driver at home so I took her to the ER. As we are driving down the highway, she is shouting at me, “what am I going to do? I won’t be able to get my shoes on for Fashion Revue tomorrow!” In our family, fashion revue was the most important pre-fair event! Just to help my sister out, I did call our county extension agent. Our agent was at least able to tell the judge to be prepared for an exhibitor who would be limping in to be judged with only one shoe. I have no idea what ribbon she received. What is important is that we made it through and persevered.
A very important thing that 4-H teaches is - it is always important to have a Plan B just in case someone throws a monkey wrench in and Plan A doesn’t work. Planning for the 2020 County Fair has been extra challenging for everyone. The 4-H members and their families have obviously had to adjust. Our Cottonwood 4-H agents, Susan and Michelle have had to adjust in many, many ways. And the County Fairboard members have had to evaluate and re-evaluate and make changes to fit the year 2020.
The plan for Fashion Revue is a little different for Barton County vs Ellis County but either way, the 4-H members have had to work and prepare to get their exhibits ready. In the clothing project there are two different judging processes. In the Clothing Construction project, the judge normally will look at the construction details on the outside of the garment and then they will turn the garment inside out and evaluate the seam finish, the hem, the button or zipper closures and every little construction detail.
If the exhibitor chooses to participate in the Constructed Fashion Revue, they will then wear and model the outfit they made and be judged on their poise, appearance, knowledge of the fabric content and the proper care of their garment. It is so interesting to listen to the member’s explanation of why they chose to make their outfit.
In the Girl’s and Boy’s Buymanship Clothing project, the member models the outfit they have purchased. Barton County members were asked to make a video and enter it in Flipgrid. They were to answer the questions that normally would be asked by a judge. The members must know the cost of their total outfit and their “cost-per-wear”. If you have a pair of jeans and you plan to wear them one day each week – the price divided by 52 usually makes the cost-per-wear very reasonable. If a member buys a prom dress and only wears it one time the cost-per-wear is rather steep. Amazingly I have seen 4-H teens explain to the judge all the other places that they plan to wear that beautiful dress, so if the interview with the young person is exceptional and the fit of the garment is perfect, a prom dress could win the Fashion Revue.
I hope you will be able to view some of the videos the 4-H members have created. Congratulations to all the 4-H members, their parents and even the open class exhibitors for their perseverance!
Berny Unruh is the Family and Community Wellness Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District. She can be reached at 785-628-9430 or at [email protected].